


Fate Always Finds a Way

by stvrmxra



Category: The 100
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Love but the other doesn’t know it yet, Minor Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin, Modern AU, minor bellarke - Freeform, shower, soft, zaven
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2019-05-27 17:36:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15029708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stvrmxra/pseuds/stvrmxra
Summary: Raven wasn’t expecting to walk in on Clarke and Bellamy making out on her couch after a long day at work, and she also wasn’t expecting to see Zeke Shaw at a late night coffee shop.And she definitely wasn’t expecting him to let her stay at his place for the night.But fate always finds a way to bring people together, and Raven is perfectly fine with that.





	Fate Always Finds a Way

**Author's Note:**

> I might change the summary later, but I wanted to post this because I’ve been working on it for almost a week. I’m pretty proud of it, and I hope you guys enjoy it.

As soon as Raven opens the door to her apartment, she knows it’s going to be a long night.

Sitting in the middle of her living room is Bellamy Blake and her roommate Clarke Griffin, passionately making out on her favorite leather couch.

Raven rolls her eyes as she opens the door further and procedes into her home, stepping around the two lovers and grabbing her phone charger from a table before walking straight out again. She slams the door behind her in annoyance, huffing down the stairs in a way that lets her braced knee make sure it’s known. 

Of course it was those lovesick idiots to make sure she doesn’t get to sleep after an extra long and painful day at work. 

Last time she had an absolutely terrible day, she walked into her apartment and was met with a trail of Clarke and Bellamy’s clothing leading to her roommates bedroom. For hours she sat awake, wondering why she helped them get together in the first place, and how the hell anyone could have sex that loudly for that long. 

She creaks open the door to her car and tightly maneuvers into the uncomfortable seat, releasing a sigh as she drops her head back into the headrest. Her stiff leg feels more taut than normal, and she knows it’s just the cherry on top to the shitty day she’s been having that never seems to want to end. 

First, when she got to work, she realized she plugged in Clarke’s unused charger instead of hers, which left her phone completely dead and chargerless. Then, the coffee machine at the auto repair shop she works at wasn’t working and today, of all days, she had a full schedule and couldn’t catch a break to get one from a cafe. 

And as if she wasn’t tired enough, one of her coworkers threw up all over her workspace and not only did she have to clean it up, but she had to cover his shift and get both of their workloads finished. 

She came home two hours late, and now, she’s basically being kicked out of her apartment. 

Fantastic. 

Raven slowly lifts her head, her eyes finding the digital clock beeping the time eleven twenty-six. Fingering her keys in her jeans pocket, she pulls them out and starts the car, deciding if she’s not going to stay home tonight, she might as well get some caffeine in her system. 

Parking at the nearest coffee shop, she shuffles out of her car and into the dimly lit cafe. There’s only a couple of people milling around, and only one person ahead of her in the line. She walks up to the granite counter when the man finishes. 

“I’ll take a caramel cappachino with four shots of espresso,” she says to the blue-eyed barista. She must look as worn out as she feels because the girl gives her a sympathetic look and starts on her drink right away.

As she makes her way to the checkout bar she pulls her wallet out of her backpack, popping it open to pull out the exact change she knows it’s going to be. 

As she approaches the counter, she smiles at the cashier, a teenager with blue hair and a nose piercing. He smiles at her and she tries to smile back, her cheeks nearly cracking at the change in position. Raven starts to hand him the money, but he stops her by saying, “The person in front of you paid for your drink, ma’am.” 

Surprised, she breathes out a small laugh before handing him the money anyway, telling the kid to pass it onto the next person. The mechanic tosses her wallet back into her bag and grabs her freshly made cappachino, sticking a straw into the whipped cream peeking through the lid. 

Turning to her left to find a table, she looks up to meet the gaze of a certain man she hasn’t seen in weeks standing with his arms crossed a few feet away. Raven’s heart skips a beat as her eyes meet his, and she wants to punch herself in the gut for it. 

The man walks up to her, and she takes in his buzzed hair and smooth light brown skin and the slight smirk set on his full lips as she raises an eyebrow at him. 

“You look like shit, Reyes,” he says, sticking a hand in his pocket as he lifts his coffee to his mouth to take a sip.

Raven finds herself captivated by the motion. 

“Yeah well, not all of us get the easy work loads, Shaw,” she attempts, masking her true feelings for the man in front of her. 

He studies her face as she says this, and she knows he’s analyzing everything she does like he learned in the Military. Raven knows very well that how she’s acting now is not at all the cocky and confident girl she usually portrays in front of him. His smirk falls a bit, and Raven raises her eyebrow again questioningly. 

“You’re tired,” he states, cocking his head slightly to the right. 

“Well no shit.” She accidentally says it a little harsh, and he looks taken aback for a second. An ounce of guilt spreads through her body as she sighs, taking another sip of her drink. “Yeah, I guess you can say I’m tired.” She runs a sleepy and slightly greasy hand over her cheek, looking away from her cute friend’s compassionate stare.

“Busy day at the shop?” 

“Yeah, Monty got sick and I had to take his shift along with mine without any coffee.” Shaw looks at her with empathy, knowing how crabby she can get without coffee. “And then my roommate and her boyfriend are having sex on my couch and I can’t deal with that tonight, you know?”

He doesn’t reply for a second, and it’s his turn to raise an eyebrow. “Do you have a place to sleep?”

Raven hasn’t even thought about that. 

“Uh, my car, probably,” she replies, inwardly wincing with how bad that sounds.

“You know you can stay at my place for the night, if you want.” He says, making her almost choke on her sip of coffee. 

Shaw asking if she wants to spend the night is a thing that’s only happened in her dreams.

_I don’t dream about him, _she tries to tell herself.__

____

____

She meets his eyes again before smiling a small, genuine smile. “Are you sure?”

“I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t sure, Reyes,” he says, and his cheeks seem to gain more color than they already had. 

“Okay. I’ll stay,” she says, her heart doing summersaults inside her ribcage. He side smiles at that, looking her up and down quickly before turning toward the door with the brunette in tow. 

Her energy levels are spiked, and she doesn’t think it’s the caffeine. 

They step out into the mildly chilly night, the slight breeze making Raven’s already messed up ponytail sway behind her. She starts toward her car, but stops short when she hears Shaw call out behind her, “You want a ride?” 

Her eyes drift from her car, to his Harley, to him, and she can’t help the butterflies that itch her stomach. But once her eyes drift to his hopeful brown ones, she realizes that she could never turn him down. 

Raven grabs her keys from her pocket, locking her doors and throwing the set into her backpack. She buttons the top on tightly before slinging it over her jacket and approaching his motorcycle.

Shaw slides onto the leather seat first, handing her his spare helmet as he shoves his on his head. She takes the object in her hands and straps it onto her head, pushing her hair out of her face before slipping onto the bike behind him.

She feels him tense as her legs touch the back of his and her arms wrap loosely around his torso. Raven’s cheeks heat up as she thinks about the skin under her fingers, remembering a time at work when he got hot oil on his shirt and was forced to take it off. She still has the clear picture of his body burned into her mind. 

Not that she’s complaining. 

Raven has never in her life seen a more _beautiful_ man than Miles Ezekiel Shaw. 

His muscular shoulders and chest were enough to make her weak in the knees, but with his abs and his hot tattoos on top of that, she couldn’t keep her eyes off of him. 

Raven rolls her eyes at herself, snapping back into reality as Shaw turns the bike onto the highway. She knows she needs to stop thinking about him like this, and that he only likes her as a friend, but no matter how hard she tries to stop she can’t bring herself to do it.

Raven Reyes can’t deny that she’s head over heels for Zeke Shaw.

Not only does she love his personality and his looks, but he’s just about the only person that truly understands what she’s gone through. 

A couple years ago, Raven was in the U.S. Air Force alongside Shaw, working as a mechanic while he was a pilot. He had been on an air mission when her base got attacked, and one of her colleagues was actually a spy and shot her in the spine. Luckily the nerve damage didn’t kill her physically—permanent paralysis below her left knee and a brace for the rest of her life—but it crushed her mentally.

Shaw had a crash a couple months after Raven was shot, and he ended up moving to the same town she did after he was released. They found each other again, and together they climbed their ways out of depression. They were basically inseparable for months, even getting the same job at a local automotive repair shop, but sooner than later Shaw quit and didn’t come to see her in weeks. Now he’s here, with her, on his bike, cruising down the highway on a beautiful night.

Raven knows that after all they’ve been through together, they’re still friends and that’s all they’ll ever be, but there’s always one damn sliver of hope that maybe he wants to be more, too.

She shakes her head and squeezes her eyes shut, trying to snap herself out of her sleep-deprived thoughts. Shaw turns the Harley toward the exit, and in a couple seconds they’re stopped at a red light. 

Zeke turns his head to the right, peering at Raven almost shyly. She smiles and lets out a small laugh, admiring the way the red light makes his eyes look shinier and his cheeks look fuller. 

Then the light turns green, forcing Shaw to turn away and start the bike again. Raven’s face immediately falls into a pout, but once she realizes it, she wipes the look away and pulls her arm away from Zeke’s warm body to take a sip of her drink.

She rests her arm back on his waist, and she can’t help the safe feeling that encompasses her entire body. She lets out a sigh of contentment, watching the neon signs pass her at a meandering speed. Below her arms, the man’s body moves in a hearty laugh, the symphonic sound reaching her ears with the pushing wind. 

She can’t stop the giggle that pushes through her lips, her hands involuntarily pushing up to his chest to feel his childish laughter. Raven can’t contain the grin plastered on her face. 

But like all soft moments, this one comes to a steady close as Shaw approaches the turn-in for his apartment complex. Raven’s smile shrinks slowly but it’s still visible, unclipping the helmet as he puts the cycle in park. 

She places her hands on his shoulders as she attempts to slide off the left side, but her knee gives out after a second and she collapses into him. Shaw’s arms shoot out to steady her a little too late, but he pushes his chest forward to stop her fall. 

Raven blinks, not believing the close proximity they’re in. Her hand makes a fist in his t-shirt as she peers up to meet his gaze, her face heating up almost instantly. His smile is completely gone, replaced by a serious look she wishes she can figure out. She feels his hands on the back of her shoulders, not moving to let her back away.

Her eyes dart back and forth between his, and their heavy breaths mingle in the small space between them. They sit for a couple seconds, eyes searching for answers, before she sees Shaw’s eyes flick down to her lips, so fast that if she blinked she would have missed it.

Gaining confidence from his action, she leans up a mere centimeter, her eyes shifting to his lips on their own as if she didn’t do it now she would never have the chance again. He pushes his chin closer, their noses a split second away from brushing. Her heart starts beating rapidly at the thought of kissing him in this moment, and her eyelids fall lazily closed.

But of course, the world finds a way to be a bitch. 

Another motorcycle suddenly roars past the two, it’s engine screeching as it flies around the corner. Raven and Zeke fly apart, Raven avoiding eye contact with him as she straightens her back and steps onto the curb. 

Zeke clears his throat as he strides straight to the staircase, Raven following close behind as they walk awkwardly up the stairs together. He pulls his key ring out of his pocket as they approach a door next to the stairs, the brunette’s teeth biting onto her bottom lip.

She takes a risk and glances at Shaw as she steps through the held open door, but his eyes are fixed on the cement below their feet. Releasing a sigh, she walks into his living room and slides her bag off her shoulders, placing her drink on the table and her bag on the couch. She works her arms out of her jacket sleeves, turning to the footsteps approaching when she gets it off.

“Nice place,” she says, wincing at how scratchy her voice sounds. 

“Thanks,” Shaw replies, ignoring her small cough. “Bought it a couple months ago ‘cause my old apartment had a bug problem.”

“That sucks.”

“Yeah, but now it’s closer to my job, so it ended up working out.” Shaw places his keys on the granite countertop, unzipping his navy blue jacket and sliding it off his muscular shoulders. “You can turn on the tv or take my bed, it’s the last door on the right whenever you’re ready.”

“Why did you get a new job?” She asks before she can refrain herself, her eyes widening as she realizes the question she’s been wondering for weeks was finally asked. 

He freezes, glancing to the ground before meeting her eyes, now seeming unbothered. She looks at him in question, watching as he stuffs his hands in his pockets and tilts his head away from her. 

“I found out something that would have gotten me fired, so I quit.” Raven stands silent, contemplating what the hell that means before he says something else. “I’m gonna go take a shower, I’ll leave the door cracked in case you need anything.”

Then he disappears. 

Raven plops heavily on the sofa, dropping her head into her expecting hands. What is wrong with her tonight? She knows very well how tired she is, but that doesn’t excuse the shit that she keeps doing to embarrass herself.

She leans back into the leather couch, straightening her injured leg and resting her hand on her stomach. Her eyes drift to the clock on the DVR below the TV, the numbers reading twelve forty-seven. Down the hallway behind her, she hears water running and she knows he’s started his shower.

With Shaw out of the room, she can finally let her mind ask the questions she’s been wanting to all night. Why is she acting like this? Aren’t they friends? Shouldn’t it not be this wierd between them?

“We’re just friends,” Raven forces herself to whisper out loud, trying to force herself to believe it. 

_No you’re not,_ the pits of her mind echo back. _Would real friends lie to each other like you’re lying to him?_

 _I’m not lying to him,_ she tries to tell herself, but then she comprehends the truth that she is.

By not telling him she loves him.

_Raven loves him._

The realization hits her like a ton of bricks, squeezing the air out of her lungs like a fist and forcing her to sit up. Wouldn’t that explain why she was so hurt when he started ignoring her, and the warm feeling that envelops her everytime she’s around him?

She didn’t quite grasp the fact that she was standing until her hand sat hovering above the knob to the bathroom door. 

What is she doing? Even if Raven loves him, there’s no telling if he even remotely likes her back. Sure there is the almost-kiss they shared, but that could have just been the adrenaline from the motorcycle. Should she risk her relationship with the only man that understands her just because she’s selfish? 

Deciding the risk is worth the aftermath, Raven pushes the door in slowly.

The sound of rushing water gets louder as she steps into the steamy bathroom, her warm skin starting to slick with sweat. She pushes the door back to it’s original position, turning back toward the shower with the man inside of it. 

Raven unlatches her brace noiselessly, squatting down on her right leg to place it onto the bath mat. She quietly starts to strip her clothes, her feet leaving her boots as her jeans pool around her ankles and her shirt falls off her shoulder. Inaudibly, she consoles herself for confidence in what she’s about to do as she slips out of the rest of her underwear.

She hushedly tiptoes on one foot, softly dragging her crippled leg behind her with her hand on the wall. As soon as Raven’s standing straight outside the baby blue shower curtain, she pulls the rubber band out of her hair, letting her brown curls cascade down her bare shoulders. 

Eh, she needed a shower anyway.

Pushing the curtain slowly to the right to alert him of her presence, she lifts her left leg into the bath with the help of her hands. Once she’s halfway in, she pushes her hand into the tiled wall to safely step into the shower. 

Raven looks up to confidently meet his eyes as soon as she’s standing straight, her butterflies flapping stronger as she notices the words _finally_ flashing across his eyes brightly.

Neither of them make moves to cover themselves, both of them keeping their starving eye contact. The sexual tension between them is thick enough to cut with a knife, the steam making the space even hotter. Slowly, his eyes travel from her eyes down to her toes and back, Raven taking that as her sign to look over his body, too. 

His arms are big and his chest is muscular she already knew, but as her eyes travel downward to uncharted territory, her legs feel weaker. His abs run down to an angular v-line, and Raven can say with full truth that she likes what she sees, above and below.

Their gazes meet again, his eyes dark and sparkling with unspoken lust. She imagines the same thing is mirrored in hers as she takes a sure step foreward, hand shooting out to keep herself standing on the slippery wall. He immediately takes a step toward her, strong hands reaching for her waist to steady her. 

As soon as his smooth hands collide with Raven’s skin, electricity runs through her. The current runs through her body, chilling her to the core as he makes no other move to touch her anywhere else.

Getting a closer look at his eyes, she can see the storm swirling within them as she reaches her hands out to his abs, not being able to contain herself. She lets her fingers dip into the ridges between them, savoring the feel on her fingertips as she drags them across his skin.

Zeke watches her with fondness in his eyes, his hands softly gripping into her waist as her fingers graze the three stars tattooed on his left hip bone. Her eyes rise to see his once again, neither of the two saying words as Raven lifts her hands to cup his wet cheeks softly.

Raven pays no attention to the voices in the back of her head because there’s no turning back now. 

His eyes drop down to her lips again, but he takes his sweet time to bring them back up, eyes raking over her face until they meet with her starstruck gaze. 

Raven only just now notices that the shower isn’t running anymore.

She tilts her head up and leans in, stopping just inches away from his expecting features. Her eyelids fall closed almost in a daze, and she waits, giving him the permission to kiss her.

She only waits a second before his lips touch onto hers gently. 

Raven’s heart beats rapidly as their lips start moving together slowly, both her and Shaw going soft and unhurried. His wet hands slide up her side, pushing to rest on her shoulder blades and then sliding down to her lower back.

One of her hands slides down to his waist to pull him closer to her, and for the first time, she feels his full body pressed against hers. Raven loves the tingling feeling covering her skin, and she gets closer than ever to feel more of it. The kiss stays slow and needy, taking in each other and what they’re doing that she’s wanted to for a long time. 

She feels Zeke pause, and she pulls away with a deep intake of breath. Her eyes flutter open, instantly being met with his glassed over ones. Their foreheads are pressed together, Raven not yet processing that she just shared a deep kiss with the man she’s been dreaming about doing it with for years. 

“I don’t know if you feel the same way that I do-” Raven starts, but she gets cut off when the man in front of her suddenly speaks.

“I quit because I realized I love you, and I knew I would never be able to tell you, so I pussied out and left.” Shaw looks away for a couple seconds before turning back to meet her shocked glance. “I’m in love with you, Raven Reyes.”

The mechanic’s heart nearly combusts, her mind not believing what her ears are hearing. Her lips turn up into a smile, her cheeks heating up because she finally knows how he feels about her.

“I’m in love with you, Zeke Shaw,” she says aloud for the first time, lifting her chin back up just to be met by another pair in another kiss. After a couple seconds, though, she can tell this one isn’t like the first one. Already it’s more intense and harder than the one they just shared moments ago.

Zeke kisses her hungrily, their bodies finally being able to do what they had been denied for so long. Raven rises her hands to under his jaw, then the back of his neck, then his bulky shoulders, her fingers wanting to touch every single piece of his exposed skin. His burning grip shifts down to the outside of her thighs, and Raven jumps off her right leg and wraps it around his torso. His hand speedily falls to her left leg, lifting it because he knows she can’t.

The fact that he’s making sure she’s comfortable and helping her with the leg he knows is hard to manage makes Raven’s heart swell, and she kisses him even firmer. With her body being held up in his arms, he steps foreward and presses her bare back against the cold tile. 

As her skin connects with the cool shower wall, her mouth opens to him, and he promptly licks his tongue into her mouth. She returns the action as he pushes her harder into the wall. Shaw readjusts his grip on her thighs before picking her up again, starting to make their way toward his bedroom. 

They don’t do much talking the rest of the night, and when they wake up next to each other, limbs tangled and smiles bright, Raven knows she can get used to this. Waking up next to Zeke every morning and being comforted by him when she’s going through a hard day, or even just being beside him. She knows they’ll be together every step of the way for the rest of their lives.

Because he loves her.

And she loves him.


End file.
